Dependent Convergence: The Importation of Technological Hazards by Semiperipheral Countries

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2000

Keywords

importation of hazards; occupational health; dependency

Disciplines

Community Health | Environmental Public Health | International Public Health | Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene | Political Economy | Public Health

Abstract

This article complements the substantial body of literature produced over the last three decades on the export of hazards from developed countries to developing countries. After reviewing the central arguments proposed by this literature, the authors add to the debate by focusing on the role of national actors in the importation of these hazards, based on the experience of late 1970s’ developments in the petrochemical industry in Brazil. The Brazilian case indicates that social struggles and/or interactions among actors in devel- oping and developed nations determine to what extent hazardous technol- ogies are imported without environmental controls and to what extent their hazardous effects are controlled by these nations. This study suggests that the future development of a more inclusive theory of export-import of hazardous technologies and products should take into account the dialectical relationship established between social actors internal to the exporting and importing countries.

Comments

Published by Baywood Publishing, Inc.

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